The Holy Hunter
by Malacai
Summary: Jason Priest awakes in the middle of a deathmatch, but has no idea why he's there,to find out he must fight his way through the tournament.This is my first entry so I hope you enjoy and please say what you think. Rated for swearing and violence
1. Chapters Zero & 1

This is based on the first Unreal Tournament game on the p.c., so it has all the classic weapons (including a few gadgets of my own design) and alien races (again including a few created by myself). So I hope you enjoy this look into the manic & chaotic world of Jason Priest & the Unreal Tournament.

**Chapter Zero:**

**Opening**

Jason Priest awoke rather groggily, to unfamiliar surroundings; he was in a great hall of some Aztec temple.

He stood from the cold stone floor and surveyed the area around him, the hall was huge the ceiling seemed to stretch several hundred feet above him, within the hall were 20 foot high statues in each corner and one in the centre, also scattered about the room were heat pits; the type that could fry a man in seconds.

As far as he could tell Priest was alone in the hall, but in the distance he could hear the sound of battle and gunfire, he found strapped to his side an Enforcer complete with 30 rounds and 2 extra clips. Jason stood for a moment trying to figure out what the hell was going on, but before he could reach any type of conclusion two heavily armed men ran into the room, Priest took cover behind one of the statues & watched, now this was not because he was a coward, far from it, as a bounty hunter and ex-marine he thrived in the heat of battle, no he hid because he was no fool & would not just jump into any old fight without knowing the lay of the land, that was how you got yourself killed; so he watched..

One of the combatants was 6ft plus and was covered head to toe in metal, but it seemed more than that, he wasn't just covered in it, it was part of him. Jason guessed that he was probably part of the war machine race, anyway the metal man was equipped with a rocket launcher, his opponent was human dressed in combat trousers, heavy boots and body armor, he also had a golden aura around him & this was when Priest noticed the shield belt, he was equipped with a pulse gun.

The battle between the two raged on, plasma blasts and rockets flew everywhere, but from his vantage point nothing strayed Jason's way. The fight continued on for only a minute or two longer when the humans shield belt failed, it had taken as much damage as it could & the war machine knew it, so unleashed a nightmarish amount of rockets, 6 or 12 at least, the human tried his best to avoid the blasts, but eventually one struck close enough to send him crashing to the ground where there was an audible snap as his neck broke. Priest could see the man was burnt, bleeding and dead, but before he could see anything else the body vanished in a blinding flash of blue light, the metal man roared with victory then went silent and looked directly at where Jason was hiding, it shouted something that the hunter couldn't understand then fired a rocket at the statue which shattered, Priest stood up from his crouched position and stared at the machine.

"Hi there." The war machine once again said something in its native tongue then unleashed another 12 rockets, Priest moved, fast, faster than the other guy had managed and dodged every blast, he quickly un-holstered the Enforcer & returned fire, at least half the shots hit their intended target, but did little, he needed another weapon, then he spotted it, although the body was gone the mans pulse gun was still laying on the floor so Jason made a run for it, the machine continued his onslaught but his aim was rubbish, when the hunter reached the weapon he cart wheeled over it grabbing it at the same time, as soon as his feet touched the ground he pulled the trigger and bombarded the metal man with the entire cell of plasma.

When the cell ran dry his opponent stood for only a moment, the hit the ground hard & just as before disappeared in the blue light.

The hunter discarded the P.G. as it was spent and as far as he could tell there were no fresh cells about, he checked the launcher and discovered that there was one round left, all he now possessed was one rocket and 60 bullets, Jason got the feeling that somehow that just wouldn't be enough; he needed more weaponry

There were four exits from the hall, Jason took the one nearest him, it lead to a set of stairs which he quickly made his way up, but when he reached the top he was greeted by a hail of bullets, one which struck him in the leg.

"SHIT!"

He rolled to the nearest cover he could find then peeked round the corner to find where the heat was coming from; it was from the man who had just got blown up by the war machine, what in gods name was going on?

"Dude, don't shoot, I'm on your side." He tried to reason with the guy.

"You ain't on no-ones side but your own, just like me, now pop your head out again so I can blow it off." This guy was vicious, but even though Jason still didn't fully understand what was going on, he wasn't going to give him that chance.

Priest popped his head out for a split second then rapidly brought it back as a bullet whizzed past, but in that short time he saw that the man was standing out in plain view in the centre of the hallway & that he also had that gold glow again, he'd once again attained the shield belt; this was gonna make things difficult.

Jason quickly came up with a plan, he rolled out with the rocket launcher equipped & fired, scoring a direct hit on his target, the man went flying backwards, but soon got up when the debris settled.

"Ha! Is that the best you got," Jason smiled ", what you grinning at?"

"You've lost your glow buddy." The bloke looked down to see the shield belt destroyed & then a look of panic spread across his face as he looked up to see Priest with his Enforcer aimed right at him; Jason winked.

"Say goodnight." One shot rang through the air & hit the human right in the forehead killing him instantly……again.

As the body vanished the hunter picked up a second Enforcer, but as he holstered it he thought he could hear what sounded like a rocket, upon turning around he discovered it was, but not just a rocket, it was a miniature remote controlled NUCLEUR rocket!

He tried to run, but even he couldn't out run the blast radius, he felt his body begin to tear apart each limb moving in a separate direction, his stomach exploding outwards & his own heart still beating, then he saw the blue light engulf him & then…….he was fine, he was in one piece and back where he started, there was just one problem, he couldn't move.

Just as Jason was about to turn the air blue with profanities a voice began to speak from some sort of tannoy system.

"Round one is over, the results are as follows.

Thomas Marksmen 1 kill

Jason Priest 2 kills and the winner with 4 kills is Xeno Trath, you will now be transported back to camp." The voice went silent and that's when Jason spoke up.

"What the fuck is going on, will someone please fucking answer me!!!!!!"

There, of course, was no answer, all the hunter got was a sharp pain in the back of his neck and the darkness of an unconscious slumber.

_**Unreal Tournament**_

_**The Holy Hunter.**_

**Chapter One:**

**Base Camp**

Priest awoke once again, even groggier than the last time, at first his vision was slightly blurred, but when it cleared he saw that he was in a room roughly the same size as the hall he was just in, except here the ceiling was much lower, it was a lot darker apart from the odd light dotted about the place and it was full of hundreds of bunk beds & people to match.

"Boggles the mind don't it." Someone spoke to Jason, he turned to see who it was and when he did he jumped back several feet.

"Holy shit!" The man next to him was Thomas Marksmen, the man who had recently threatened to blow his head off.

"Whoa calm down dude, I came over to apologize."

"Apologize!!!"

"Yeah for what I said in the arena, I kinda got carried away."

"You got carried away, what the fuck is going on here!?"

"You don't know?"

"NO! I keep asking but no-one answers me!!"

"Dude, you're in the Tournament." Priest froze and very quickly calmed down as what Tom had said sunk in.

"Oh shit."

"How could you not know, I mean the U.T. is purely voluntary, a place to test you skills."

"Look, Tom isn't it," the man nodded ",the first thing I knew about this was when I woke up in that arena."

"But that can't be man, what do you remember before that?"

"I was," Priest closed his eyes, in an attempt to bring back past memories, but all he got were brief flashes of a room with some huge device in it and a man standing over him saying something he couldn't quite hear, it was all very hazy ",I was on a job, I, huh, that's strange, I can't remember." Jason stood up from the bed he was sat on with his head in his hands, then he looked up and around the room.

"How the hell do you get out of here?"

"You don't"

"What!?"

"The only way out is by finishing the tournament, getting disqualified or getting dropped, but that only happens near the end of the season" Jason closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, took a deep breath then slowly exhaled, when he opened his eyes again Thomas stood in front of him.

"Are you ok?" Priest remained quiet & looked around the room once more, it was filled with all manner of fighters or warriors, but some looked like children, young men at best, but still incredibly young, he'd heard of some cultures using the tournament to test a boys passage into manhood, but he'd never really believed it.

"Dude, are you ok?"

"Stop calling me dude, my name's Priest, Jason Priest."

Now Thomas looked shocked and took a step back.

"Noooo, you're not."

"Give me some credit, I may not know why I'm here, but I know who I am."

"Shit, you're the Holy Hunter, damn I've heard all about your escapades & I must admit I'm a bit of a fan."

Jason looked at the guy with an eyebrow raised.

"A fan, Tom I'm just a bounty hunter."

"No no, one of the most renowned and feared bounty hunters in the whole galaxy, it makes more sense why you're here now, a warrior like you is perfect for the U.T."

"I think there's more to it than that."

Before Marksmen could say any more the voice on the announcement system spoke up.

"Next round in one hour, battle royale, ten combatants per arena, that is all." Priest turned his attention back to Tom.

"You say the only way out is through the tournament?"

"Yeah."

"Fine, they want a fight, they'll get a fight."


	2. Chapter 2: The Wait

**Chapter 2**

**The Wait**

Jason stood in the transport room awaiting the roll call for each arena, he had just come from the armory where he had been issued his Enforcer & body armor, it wasn't bulletproof but it gave him a little more confidence in his chances of survival. The Liandri employee had also injected him with a nano-liquid, Priest was informed that when he entered the arena the liquid would create a HUD in his vision telling him all he needed to know, how much ammo was in his current weapon, how much more damage he or his armor could take and numerous other little perks, like the vocal connection, a direct vocal link to all the other combatants in the arena, when asked what purpose that would serve in this bout the employee simply answered.

"To taunt of course."

So now he stood and waited, whilst surveying his competition, there were hundreds upon hundreds of races, cultures & various forms of warriors and fighters, many Priest recognized, but there were just as many that he didn't, which proved the fact that combatants really did travel from as far as other galaxies to take part in Liandri's Unreal Tournament.

Some of the ones he recognized were groups like the Marines, who had most likely been sent here by their commanding officer for additional training, of course there were the War Machines, the half-human half-robot cyborgs with a taste for explosive weaponry, there were the Rawsteels, men who had trained themselves to numb all forms of pain, all they seemed to wear was combat trousers, boots and shades, one of the Rawsteels Jason knew as a fellow hunter, a man by the name of Talon.

He continued to scan the room until he spotted a group that really stuck out from the rest, their skin was dark green & appeared to be scaled, their eyes were a deep, dark blood red & their hands were clawed, they looked like the dragons of legend in human form.

"Tom, who the hell are they?" Priest asked pointing.

"No-one really knows, they come here every year but keep pretty much to themselves, but they have acquired a nickname from the rest of us."

"What's that?"

"We call them Shadow Beasts."

"Why?" He asked the question, although he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to know the answer.

"Because they are the finest stealth experts you're ever likely to meet, once in the arena you'd be lucky to even catch a glimpse of one of them, luckier still if you manage to frag one, but if you're killed by something you can't see, likelihood is, it was one of them." Priest thought about this for a moment then smiled.

"And why are you grinning?"

"I think I've found a challenge."

"PRIEST!!!" Jason turned to the call of his name & saw Talon storming over to his position.

"Oh good."

"Priest." Talon stood as close as he could get to the hunter, showing that he was at least three feet higher than him, but Jason didn't even flinch, that was until he smelt Talons breath then he had to turn his head.

"Jason Priest, you and I have unfinished business."

"Really, well I can't possibly imagine what about."

"Don't be smart with me, you know bloody well what about, now put 'em up, I'm gonna mop the floor with your face."

"Well, as tempting as that sounds Talon, I think you'll find that the rules clearly state that there is to be no fighting outside the arena." The Rawsteels face screwed up so tight that it went even redder.

"FINE! Then I shall have your head in the arena."

"Give it you best shot Talon, I promise you'll miss again." With a grunt and a sneer the Rawsteel stalked off.

"What the hell did you do to piss him off that much?" Asked Tom

"I slept with his Ex-wife." Tom tried to suppress a giggle but failed.

"That's kind of childish of him."

"Talon is a very simple creature, with primitive morals, even though she dumped him, he believes that she should still be with him."

"Christ Priest, you must have been pretty good to annoy him that much." Jason grinned.

"Well, I don't like to brag." Then the both of them began to laugh, they were still laughing at Talons expense when the announcers voice began to speak on the tannoy, then all laughter and conversation stopped as all the contestants prepared for battle.

"Ladies and Gents, it's game time, would group one make their way to the arena teleporters." Jason and Thomas began to move to the teleporters as did Talon and another male & a female Rawsteel, 3 War Machines and 2 Shadow Beasts.

"Now don't forget you weapon compact, use it to carry all guns you've collected so all you have to find is ammo, unless you're fragged of course."

"Yes I know Tom , that's probably the hundredth time you've told me." Each combatant stepped onto a white circle.

"And just fair warning, if we meet in the arena, just 'cause you're my mate don't mean I'm gonna go easy on ya." Priest looked over at Tom and just smiled.


	3. Chapter 3: Death Match

**Chapter 3: Death Match**

When the blinding white light cleared Priest saw that he was in a relatively small room with a low ceiling, there were two support pillars in opposite corners of the space & next to one of them was a pulse rifle, which he quickly scooped up and loaded into his Weapon compact., on the wall was a scrolling message board and there was only two exits, one lead to a sheer drop the other to a ramp, Priest legged it through that exit, when he reached the top of the ramp he saw that he was on one of three towers, each one was practically identical, they each had two open levels on top, with a smaller chimney stack tower on top of that, they also had a ramp which, Jason could only assume, lead down to a room much like the one he'd just left, the only difference was that each tower was of a slightly different height, not that that mattered much as they were clearly several thousand feet up and well above the cloud line.

On one of the towers Priest could see a battle taking place, but no means of reaching it & that was when he spotted Marksmen making an incredible leap from one structure to the next, then it dawned on him, low gravity of course, they were so high up that it should have been obvious, how could he miss it, but before he could leap to the next tower Priest's own battle was joined, a rocket flew inches past his head, he turned to see a war machine curse his aim, thanks to the HUD Jason could see that the guy was called Zenta.

Once again Zenta fired, but because of the slow speed of the rockets the hunter was able to easily avoid them, whilst performing the series of cartwheels, back flips and rolls Priest equipped the pulse gun & once he gained back his footing began to return fire, but for a man who mostly consisted of metal, Zenta was surprisingly agile & managed to dodge every blast of burning hot plasma, he then legged it up to the second level, the holy hunter snarled and gave chase; no way was he escaping.

Priest flew up the ramp and when he rounded the corner barely avoided a shock rifle blast, the war machine had got himself a new weapon, again battle commenced as each combatant fired, dodged, fired, dodged and fired again, eventually they were face to face with each other firmly in their sights, both Priest and Zenta pulled their trigger at the same time and……. dead mans click, for the both of them, as fast as possible they discarded their current weapons & equipped their enforcers, but Priest was faster, he fired once and Zenta was down.

When the body vanished Jason collected his pulse gun and the cyborgs shock rifle, but no sooner had he done that when a bullet struck him in the back and he hit the ground, he pulled himself back up realizing he was still in the game, the body armor had taken most of the damage, although it still hurt like hell. He scanned the area and could see no-body, then there was another shot, this time though he heard the rifle go off first giving him a split second to narrowly dodge the bullet, he kept scanning the area then spotted what he was looking for, the tiniest glint of light as it reflected off the snipers scope, it was atop one of the stack towers, Priest fired a few shots at the location forcing the shooter to move & move he did, impossibly fast, but from that brief glimpse the hunter knew he had spotted a Shadow Beast; next time he'd frag him.

Jason leapt up to the position and found that it had a sniper rifle and extra ammo, he picked up the gun and looked through the scope at another of the towers upon which a battle took place, there were four fighters, Thomas was one and he fought the female Rawsteel by the name of Barbed, Talon and another War machine called Xatox. He watched the fight for a little while then shot Tom, Barbed and Xatox in the head, but he only shot Talon in the knee cap, the Rawsteel hit the ground and Priest could hear his roar of frustration even from where he crouched; he then activated his vocal connection.

"Hey Talon, remember what you said about having my head."

"Fuck you Priest, you blown apart my bloody kneecap, I can't F'ing move."

"Yea, you may not be able to feel it, but it's still effective, now about that other point."

"What about it?"

"I'm having your head, just thought you'd like to know." With that he pulled that trigger and Talon dropped like a sack of potatoes, there was a moments silence as the body disappeared then the Rawsteels voice opened up on the V.C.

"You are such a dead man Priest!" Jason laughed.

"Heard it all before."

The match continued on & each warrior got their share of frags, Priest had lost his sniper position early on as someone had snuck up behind him and taken his head off with a Flak Cannon, but he was quickly resurrected & back into the fray. From here on it was absolute manic carnage, bullets & bio gunge, pulse blasts & rockets plus everything in between flew left, right and centre forcing the hunter to use every ounce of his skill just to survive, but even that wasn't enough and he found himself riddled with bullets, melted by bio gunge, blown into lots of little pieces and his brains blown out the back of his head, that's not to say that he didn't respond in kind. He had fragged Tom at least four times, the three war machines had got caught in his crosshairs numerous times as had the Rawsteels, but he never did see head nor tail of those two Shadow Beasts again. Of course the one person who gained most of his fire was Talon, he'd fragged him more than twenty times, at one point he was taking him out as he re-spawned, such was the power of a direct rocket hit. On more than one occasion he had achieved the rating of 'Unstoppable', but the fact that annoyed him just ever so slightly was that Talon had managed 'Godlike', only once mind, but that was one time too many.

The battle raged on until eventually all stopped as the combatants froze in their positions & the announcer's voice spoke.

"The match is over, the winner with 105 frags is Jason Priest," Priest smiled, he'd won his first proper round, not bad, for a guy who had no idea why he was here, "all warriors will now be returned to camp."


	4. Chapter 4: Team Up

Hiya folks, sorry the latest chapter been awhile, but hope you enjoy it.

**Chapter 4: Team-Up**

Another three death matches had passed, two of which Priest had won. A score of fifty in the first & one hundred and fifty in the second, the third had been won by Thomas. But that was only because Jason had been locked in a sniper battle with another Shadow Beast; he'd once again spotted its position but was unable to get a clear shot. He had positioned himself and re-positioned himself time and time again, all the while avoiding and returning fire. But eventually his persistence was his downfall and the shadow beast struck him in the head.

Once they had returned from that round, the combatants had been told that they were to be separated into teams of five. When they returned to the Armory to hand back their collected weaponry, they were given a room number to go to and a list of their team mates. The team Jason had been placed in comprised of, Talon, Barbed, Thomas and a fifth member who had yet to show up. Now the fact that he was in the same team as Talon didn't bother Priest, but it bothered the Rawsteel immensely. Not only that but the hunter had also been assigned leadership, and this really pissed him off.

"This is bullshit, I am a far superior fighter compared to you Priest, leadership should've been mine!"

"As you have been telling us all for the past hour Talon and to be honest, it's really starting to get on my nerves."

"Oooo, Priest is gonna lose his temper, I'm so scared!" Jason took a deep breath.

"I'm going over here."

"What gonna run now like a chicken!?" Jason walked over to the other side of the room as Talon made chicken noises, Tom followed him over.

"Are you letting him win?"

"No I'm letting him live, I stay over there any longer I'm likely to break his neck and that's disqualification."

"At least you'd get out of here."

"What and miss all the fun, na there's some reason I'm here, and I intend to find out, I hate lose ends."

"Have you remembered any more?"

"I keep trying, but each time my mind begins to burn, I think someone is suppressing them and I will find out who."

For a good deal of time Jason and Tom sat and talked, trying to piece together more of the hunters memory. While on the other side of the room Talon and Barbed…… well got intimate was the polite way of saying it. Another way was to say that they sucked on each others faces in various forms of undress.

"Rawsteels ain't shy are they?" Said Tom.

"That they aren't, but if it goes any farther I'm gonna have to do something, 'cause the last thing I need to see right now is Talons meat and veg."

"Excuse me, is this Jason Priests unit?" From the door came a cold, deep and hypnotic voice, the kind that drew you in and gave you a sense of unease at the same time. Every word said was savored and enhanced with a slight hiss on the Ss. Before Priest could answer, he was pre-empted by Talon.

"Unfortunately yea, who the fuck wants to know?"

"My name is Lucian and I am his fifth member."

"Tough break."

"On the contrary, I volunteered." Priest turned to see who was standing at the door, and was slightly surprised to see that it was a Shadow Beast. None the less he walked up to him with his hand outstretched.

"I'm Jason Priest." Lucian returned the greeting and shook the hunter's hand.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Priest." Tom then came up and greeted him.

"Thomas Marksmen, did I hear you right, that you volunteered to be in this mismatched group?"

"Yes, Mr. Priest and myself have faced each other in the arena and I was most impressed, it is a rare occasion when one of my kind has to fight head on and even rarer with such a worthy opponent." The others stared at Jason in disbelief, but it was Barbed who spoke.

"You found and fought a Shadow Beast?"

"Yea, I fought him, didn't frag him though."

"Trust me Mr. Priest you came very close."

"Oh, well, good to know and drop the mister routine, it's Jason or Priest, whatever your preference."

"As you wish."

"Your very polite for a trained assassin."

"Trust me, my comrades are not as educated, but I have found little use for vulgarity in a world of violence."

"Oh great we've got a fucking philosopher in our midst's, that's all we fucking need." Talon said whilst pulling on his trousers.

"Actually I think it's rather cool that we've got a Shadow Beast on our team," Tom then paused, "now there's a point, what is your race?"

"A secretive one, with many names, so for now let us stick with what you are all familiar with."

"Sounds Fair." Said Priest.

"_Ladies and Gents, game time is in one hour, capture the flag."_ The announcer's voice boomed over the tannoy.

"Okay folks, get some rest, I'm sure we're gonna need it."


	5. Chapter 5: Capture The Flag

Hiya folks sorry the latest chapter is so long in the making, got major writers block, what with Christmas and all. But I now bring you the next thrilling installment of Holy Hunter Enjoy.

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Capture the Flag.**_

When the light cleared Priest and his team found themselves in a relatively large, stone room. The room had two exits that seemed to lead in the same direction. Set in the stone wall between the openings was one of three tele-portals, the other two were on each side of the room; plus of course in the centre of it all was the red flag.

"Talon, Barbed, Tom you three remain here for the moment, Lucian with me." Talon opened his mouth to protest, but a glance from Jason stopped him. He may have loathed Priest, but on the battlefield he followed the chain of command. Lucian and Priest went through one of the exits & stopped when they reached the front entrance. Now with a full view of their surroundings, they could see that the base was in fact a large, stone tower. Directly in front of them was a hill and behind that was yet another tower, which seemed to be identical to theirs.

"What's the verdict Lucian?"

"Well, from here I can see at least three sniping positions, each with a clear view between the structures with only one blind spot. From what I can see our tower has the same set-up.

"Basically out there is a no mans land, it's a very risky business crossing that gap. But from the looks of it we have no choice in the matter."

"Okay, you make your way up to one of those sniper points & cover our asses; I'll give the others their orders."

"Yes Sir." Before Priest could even blink, Lucian was gone.

"Damn he's good."

Back in the flag room the others waited as Jason entered.

"Looks like Liandri are having a bit of fun with us today."

"So what's the plan?" Asked Barbed.

"You and Thomas are to remain here and guard the flag. Prevent anyone getting their mitts on it and if they do get it back," Priest paused and looked at Talon, "you're coming with me to get their flag." The Rawsteel looked shocked.

"You want me to come with you on the offensive?"

"Yea, look you may not be my most favorite person in the galaxy, but no one can deny your one hell of a fighter, now let's go." Talon and Priest then headed out into the battlefield, when they reached the entrance they stopped.

"You ready?"

"Fuck Priest, I'm always ready, the question is can you keep up?" With that he legged it towards the hill, and then dropped just as quickly as a bullet ripped through his head. The body vanished and soon after Talon returned to the entrance.

"Why didn't you fucking tell me there were fucking snipers you bastard!"

"You said you were ready." Talon stood and stared at Jason with blind rage and a throbbing vein on his forehead. The hunter merely stared back with a look of amusement on his face. The moment was shattered by the sound of another sniper round, this time from their tower.

"I don't know what you gents are up to, but the enemy is making their move." Lucian said over the V.C., Priest turned to Talon.

"Truce."

"For now shit head." The only reaction Jason gave to the comment was a rolling of the eyes, otherwise he was focused on running at full pelt. When he and Talon made it to the top of the hill they were greeted by bullets, pulse blasts and flax cannon shards. The blue team had taken to a slightly different plan of attack. They had two snipers atop the tower, one wielded a sniper rifle the other a mini gun. Two members charged up the hill towards Priest and Talon, which meant they had one left protecting the flag.

The ground teams stormed towards each other as Priest spoke into his V.C.

"Lucian a little help please." A sniper shot rang through the air and one of the blue team, a Necris called Brock, fell dead. A second shot, but the target anticipated it and dodged the bullet, then slammed into Talon with full force. Priest left the two of them fighting hand to hand whilst he continued on for the flag. Jason just managed to avoid getting filled with bullet holes as he entered the tower, once in the flag room he was greeted by Zenta.

"We've really got to stop meeting like this."

"This time it is you who shall fall to my might hunter." Priest raised an eyebrow in response then began to fire. In all the chaos Jason had forgotten to collect a decent weapon, so was only armed with an Enforcer; Zenta on the other hand had a shock rifle. The war machine stood stock still between Priest and the flag, bombarding him with shock blasts and balls. The balls of purple energy were slow and easily avoided, but the blasts proved more difficult. Twice Jason had felt a glancing blow, but so far nothing direct. That was when Zenta fired a combo, it was a devastating shot comprising of both a shock ball and blast mixed together. The shockwave sent Priest flying into the nearest wall.

"Shit, that's gonna leave a mark." Jason pulled himself up to see Zenta had him square in his sights. This time he took a direct shock blast to the chest, Priest felt the shot throughout his entire body and in every organ. As he smacked, once again, into the wall he spat a rather large amount of blood, which splashed onto the ground. Calling up his HUD he saw that he was now down to ten hit points, one more hit and he was history; Zenta braced his weapon.

"Say goodniAHHHHHHH!" Talon had appeared behind the war machine and was now tearing into him with a chainsaw. He cut and tore his way through Zenta and when the bloody scene was over, the cyborgs body lay in pieces on the ground. Talon now stood in front of Jason looking more manic than ever, his face and the better part of his torso was covered in blood & little pieces of the war machine.

"I can't fucking leave you alone for two seconds can I?"

"Shut your trap and help me up." Once back on his feet, Priest went over to the flag and grabbed it. That was when Brock re-spawned in the room and Zenta rounded the corner.

"Talon Bolt!"

"Fuck no, I'm getting my kill."

"Talon, we have the flag I'm almost dead and I need you for cover, now fucking run."

"SHIT!" As the two members of the blue team began their attack, Jason and Talon legged it out of the exit.

In a matter of moments they reached the hill & were soon desperately trying to avoid sniper bullets. Talon wasn't having much trouble, but every organ in Priests body burned & he was still spitting blood. He knew one hit and he was down. They had just reached the top of the hill when it happened. Priest took a bullet in the back, he crashed to the ground dropping the flag.

"TALON!" Was the last thing he said before he re-spawned back at base.

"What the hell happened?" Asked Tom, Jason ignored his teammate and quickly scanned the room. He found the weapon he was looking for, grabbed it and ran for the exit. He could see the Rawsteel at the top of the hill fighting Brock for possession of the flag. He shouldered the rifle, took aim and BANG. Talon was back in base and gaining the red team a point before the Necris' body hit the floor.

As Priest and Talon were about to leave once again, Lucian re-spawned in the flag room.

"Lucian! What the hell!" Exclaimed Tom.

"I was taken out."

"By who, your kind aren't supposed to be spotted."

"Not entirely true, one shadow beast can very easily spot another." Priest stepped in.

"Are you saying they got a beast on their team?"

"Worse, they have an ex-beast."

"Ex?"

"A renegade by the name of Ceraba, he left our group sometime ago when his bloodlust and joy of the kill went beyond a line the rest of us would never have crossed.

"What I hear is he is now a cold, calculated killer with a heart of stone, he shows no mercy, lives for the kill and bathes in the blood of battle."

"Sounds like my kinda guy."

"Trust me Talon; I truly believe that his ferocity would outmatch even yours." Talon felt an unusual shiver run its way up his spine as Lucian spoke. But quickly regained his arrogant composure.

"Well, still."

"Lucian we appreciate the heads up, but we still have a match to win, now return to your station."

As soon as the shadow beast had vanished through the tele-portal, a redeemer rocket flew into the flag room. The following explosion wiped out the four combatants, ensuring a clear path and point for the blue team.

With a vengeful rage Priest and Talon then stormed the blues tower. Talon drew the sniper fire, whilst Jason slipped in. Now armed with a better weapon the hunter took out Zenta in just a few shots. He took hold of the flag and was back in base before the enemy knew it.

In their next charge the two warriors were intercepted at the top of the hill. Whilst locked in battle they saw a very strange sight indeed, their own flag making its way to the blue base by its self.

"Talon, they've the invisibility belt, focus your fire!" They tried as hard as they could to take down the transparent target, but not a single shot hit home and the blues received another point.

Now there was everything to play for and both teams knew it. Priest and his group were figuring their next move when Lucian spoke into the V.C.

"Lady and Gents, the enemy is making their move."

"What they doing Lucian?"

"They've left their sniper and are charging the tower."

"Well, guess that sorts our battle plan, team move out." The four fighters moved swiftly out of the base to meet their opponents. As they reached the entrance the blues appeared over the summit of the hill.

"Reds Attack!"

Each team began to fire as the gap between them rapidly closed. Eventually they were fighting hand to hand. Thomas was the first to fall, as Brock managed to hit him full force with the butt of his rifle. The crack of Marksmen's head was audible to all. With his opponent out of the way, the Necris headed into the base and retrieved the flag. Priest saw this so quickly finished his opponent, once again Zenta, and gave chase.

Barbed was in a pushing war with her target, a soldier named Mercury, the man was strong, but her Rawsteel might won out and Barbed managed to throw the soldier off the edge of the arena.

Priest had kept pace with Brock 'til they reached the top of the hill. He was stopped by a sniper bullet; he had just narrowly avoided a clean head shot. But the bullet had struck too close to his eye, and now he was attempting to see through a curtain of blood.

By this point the Necris had almost reached the blue base. Jason equipped his rocket launcher and let fly with six missiles simultaneously. The resulting explosion at Brocks feet sent him flying backwards and landing just short of the arena edge. As he picked himself up Priest got close enough to use his chainsaw, which ripped through Brocks flag carrying arm. He let out a scream of pain as his limb hit the dirt, but retaliated with a left hook to the hunters jaw. The strike sent Priest reeling, thanks to the Necris' inhuman strength. As he shook it off Jason saw Brock pick up the flag and head for the entrance. Without a second thought the hunter equipped his Pulse gun, and began to fire a rain of burning plasma at his opponents back. Each ball of green energy struck home, and before long the skin was melting off revealing Brocks spine and shoulder blades, soon even those began to crack and dissolve. As Priest went to retrieve their flag, the Necris' mutilated body vanished, now he knew he hadn't much time so quickly moved for the blue flag.

With the flag in hand Jason exited the base, where he came face to face with his next opponent. It wasn't Brock as expected, but the Shadow Beast Ceraba. The creature stood at least a full two feet taller than Lucian, and his razor blade grin was blood stained.

"I know you don't I?"

"Probably not, I've got one of those faces."

"No, I know you, you are the one who forced me from my snipe position in the first round. I've been waiting to get you back for that." Ceraba raised the **two **weapons he carried, a mini gun and chainsaw.

"I'm gonna feast on your rotting corpse."

"Now you don't want to do that, I taste dreadful, even my girlfriend won't give me a hiccie."

"You talk too much, desist and defend yourself." With that Ceraba began to charge with the mini gun on full auto. Priest jumped, rolled and ricocheted as best he could, but it proved more difficult than normal with the flag in tow. Every so often he was able to get in a lucky shot, but these didn't even seem to phase the beast. Eventually after what felt like an eternity of dodging, Ceraba ran out of bullets. Discarding the mini gun he charged headlong towards Priest. Jason gained his footing then began to fire his Pulse Gun full auto. Each shot should have caused searing pain, but the manic beast charged through like an enraged bull.

Soon he was up close and personal and Priest found himself dodging chainsaw swipes. He could hear the machines jagged sound pierce his eardrums as it got uncomfortably close to his head. Finally with a large amount of luck Priest managed to put some space between them. He fired another volley of rockets, but to his horror Ceraba deflected five of them and caught the last.

"Oh shit, that just aint good."

Ceraba threw the rocket like a grenade. Priest was able to avoid the initial blast, but the shockwave knocked him out of the air. He hit the ground hard. With the wind knocked out of him Jason rolled over, only to have his heart stop in his chest. The shadow beast towered above him, the chainsaw roaring in his hand. The last thing he felt were the individual teeth rapidly ripping their way through his chest muscle, soon through his ribcage, and that was when he passed out from the pain.

He awoke re-spawned back at base just in time to hear the announcer's voice.

"The match is over, blue team wins."


	6. Chapter 6: A Hunters Past

_**Chapter 6**_

_**A Hunters Past**_

Priest went back to the quarters where the others waited.

"What the hell happened?!"

"Brock managed to slip past us while Zenta and Mercury kept us occupied. But what about you, you were at the blue base weren't you?"

"I had my hands full with Ceraba."

"You fought Ceraba?" Exclaimed Lucian.

"Yes I fought Ceraba, why are you lot always so shocked when I take on a shadow beast?"

"Did you defeat him?"

"No."

"Oh, in that case I'm not that shocked."

"Gee thanks for the vote of confidence," Jason took a seat on the nearest bunk, "anyone know when the next round is?"

"We were told there'd be a bit of break before the next 'bout. It'll probably be tomorrow sometime."

"Well, in that case I'm getting some sleep."

Priest dreamed, he dreamed the nightmares that never left him. At least they weren't memories recently forgotten, but they were memories that never could be. He tossed and turned, sweat streaming down his face. He could see the bullets, smell the blood and felt completely helpless. He bit his lip and gritted his teeth, then woke with a scream. The room was mostly dark, except for the moon light that streamed through the window. All the others were asleep bar Lucian, he sat crossed legged in the centre of the room. His eyes were shut and his elbows rested on his knees, his thumb and index finger on each hand were pinched together. Priest went in for a closer look. He barely looked alive, not a single muscle moved. Jason waved his hand up and down in front of the beasts face, nothing. Then his eyes snapped open, the blood red colour cutting through the darkness.

"Can I help you?"

"Sorry, I was just wondering what you were doing."

"It is an exercise that calms the mind, there is a saying that my kind follow. A steady mind creates a steady shot."

"Ok."

"You awoke with a scream, are you alright."

"Yea I'm fine, let's just say that I don't have a calm mind."

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

"No, not really."

"Are you sure, it is said that to dispel your demons, you must confront them."

"What, you're a psychiatrist as well as a philosopher and assassin now."

"It is true that I have many fortes, but what I offer you is a sympathetic ear."

Jason couldn't say why, but Lucian's voice had changed. No longer was it the cold, hypnotic tone that is was before. But now it was warm and welcoming, trusting even. Before he knew it Priest was talking about that, which he had never spoken of to anyone.

"Well, I wasn't always a hunter as some stories would have you believe. I was once a priest."

"That would explain the pendent." Lucian remarked about the cross that Jason wore round his neck. Normally concealed from view by his armor, now in full sight due to his bare chest.

"Yea, well old habits and all. Anyway I lived in this small village, hundreds of miles from anywhere. It was a beautiful place calm, serene. It was especially gorgeous in the summer, of course that was when it happened.

"I was reading a sermon one afternoon when these two greasy, sweaty excuses for life entered the church. They started waving guns about and demanding everyone's money and jewelry. Of course we all complied and gave them what they wanted. But when we thought that we were safe, when they were about to leave, they turned and went full auto on everyone. I dove behind the nearest cover and listened to the screams of my friends, my colleagues……my family." Lucian looked shocked.

"Your family."

"Yea, I had a family. A beautiful wife and two boys. They'd come to surprise me at the church," Priest paused and stared into the darkness, "I'd never seen so much blood, the centre aisle ran like a river with it. Such needless slaughter. I thought that I'd break down and cry, but that wasn't the emotion I felt at all.

"What I felt was far darker and filled with fire. Vengeance, I wanted vengeance for those people, for myself. So I grabbed the nearest weapon, an ornamental dagger, and followed them. I chased them for miles until they got back to their hideout, some shitty warehouse. When I confronted them they laughed at first, all threats and bad breath. I didn't care, once one of them got close enough I took that knife and shoved it in his stomach, then twisted.

"The last look on his face was one of shock. His friends were stunned for a moment, then they began to attack. The rest was a blur I've no idea how I survived, all I know is that I did and they didn't. Afterwards I just stood there, I've no idea how long, I just stood there with their blood on my hands. Terrified by what I had done I ran, stowed away on the first ship I came across, just so happened to be a hunter's ship. One of them wanted to kill me, but the other talked him out of it and they let me stay. Months passed and eventually they trained me to be a hunter too.

"That was the day my old persona died and Jason Priest the Holy hunter was born, huh. Strange how people react to tragedy ain't it."

"So why the nightmares?"

"Why do you think, guilt, good old fashioned guilt. I keep thinking had I not been such a coward, I may have been able to save them."

"That thought is common Priest, but the truth of the matter is had you not been a coward, you would have more than likely joined them in death."

"Perhaps you're right, I just can't decide what I'd rather. Look you get back to your meditation, I'm going for a walk.


End file.
